AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE: 9 NOVEMBER 2005

UNCLAS ZAGREB 001810 SIPDIS DEPT PLEASE PASS TO DS/DSS, DS/IP, M/MED/JCTRIPLETT FAS/CMP/DLP WETZEL AND MAGGINNIS FAS/ITP/EAMED POMEROY AND FLEMING CA/OCS/ACS RICK DOWELL USAID FOR E&E/ECA/B/ANNE CONVERY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO PREL EAID WHO CASC HR SUBJECT: AVIAN INFLUENZA UPDATE: 9 NOVEMBER 2005 REF: ZAGREB 1772, 1741, 1729, 1436 ¶1. SUMMARY: As of November 9, 2005, no additional cases of H5N1 have been confirmed in Croatia. The GOC has begun to relax some of the biosafety measures outside of the initial sites. Public awareness efforts are continuing and poultry sales are rebounding. END SUMMARY ¶2. The Croatian Veterinary Institute has collected over 3000 samples from wild and domestic birds and will continue to collect and test samples from throughout Croatia. Within a three kilometer radius of the three initial sites where H5N1 was found (two fish farms in Grudnjak and Nasice and the village of Zdenci),all poultry is still banned. Dr. Mate Brstilo, Assistant Minister, Veterinary Directorate, Ministry of Agriculture confirmed that the government plans to provide free baby chicks to owners who had their poultry culled if no additional cases of H5N1 are confirmed within 45 days of the previous cases. ¶3. Within 20 kilometers of the three-kilometer radius of the initial sites, all poultry is still required to be kept indoors. However, Minister of Agriculture Cobankovic announced on Monday, November 7, that the requirement to keep all poultry under cover for the rest of Croatia would be lifted on Friday, November 11 but the requirement to keep poultry in enclosed spaces would remain. Econoff travelled through the Croatian countryside to the towns of Varazdin and Koprivinca on Monday, November 7 and saw some chickens on small family farms that were not being kept under cover or in enclosed spaces. However, the number of free range chickens appeared to be less than before the new regulations went into effect. ¶4. Public awareness efforts continue and last week the city of Zagreb published an information pamphlet on avian influenza and the risk to public health. Effects of AI on poultry sales are still unclear. According to Bozidar Cikac, director of sales for Vindija corporation (a large producer of poultry and poultry products),domestic sales dropped in the first weeks after H5N1 was confirmed in Croatia. Cikac said that sales are starting to rebound as media interest in AI has waned. Davor Popovic, Sales Manager, Podravka corporation (a food processing company),said that their exports of poultry products have declined since Serbia and Montenegro banned import and transit of all poultry products (including canned soup) from Croatia. Podravka exports to Macedonia have stopped as well, since SaM is a transit country. DELAWIE